Dive Brief:

• Lyft announced it would make all mobility options "front and center" in a sweeping update to its app. Users will now be able to see available bikes, scooters, public transit, car rentals, shared rides and more on the home screen, and compare trip speed and cost on those different options.
• The company said the latest update to its app is part of a vision where riders "subscribe to a transportation service just like you subscribe to your cell phone plan or your content streaming plan." Lyft said showing all mobility options in one place is about helping customers find the easiest and cheapest way to get around.
• Lyft said that in early testing, the app redesign has more people using scooters, bikes and public transit, which it noted are the ones most likely to help cut congestion on city streets.

Dive Insight:

This update to the Lyft app comes hot on the heels of the company's announcement that it would add bike lane information in every market where it has shared bike and/or scooter programs. It's part of an overall strategy from Lyft that began last year with a prior redesign that looked to integrate and make it easier to compare various ride options. This latest update builds on that strategy.

It would appear that Lyft's move into bikes and scooters — both docked and dockless — has been something of a success so far. The company said that this summer, one out of every eight rides was on a bike or scooter. The company has seen record ridership on its docked bike-share systems like Citi Bike in New York City, which Lyft now owns after acquiring parent company Motivate in July 2018.

With ride-hailing companies taking their share of blame for congestion on city streets, they have made moves to encourage users to try other options. Uber made a big show of partnering with various companies last year to give its app a more multimodal flavor, while it also introduced a program designed to incentivize shared rides last month.

Both companies are now publicly listed, and in paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), they said that they want to be a one-stop shop for different modes of travel. Lyft's efforts to more easily integrate these alternative modes of transportation, and show how their speed and cost differs, is a big step and could be helpful as cities look to encourage a multimodal approach to getting around.